Did a prominent professor give you a personal interview over email? Are you taking a quote from a personal interview in a magazine, either online or in print, for your MLA paper? In figuring out how to cite an interview in MLA style, you’ll need to account for different scenarios. No matter what type of interview you need to cite, though, you’ll learn how to quickly, easily and perfectly create an MLA 8 interview citation.
How to Quote a Personal Interview in MLA
You have an amazing interview that will be perfect for your MLA paper. But, you don’t know how to cite an interview in MLA. If you interview a person, cite your entry the same way you would a personal communication. You can do this one of three ways: email, telephone, and in person. In all cases, you’ll follow the container system with the nine core elements of MLA style citation.
Learn how to do all three MLA 8 interview citation types by following these examples.
Example – Email Interview Citation
Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. “Subject Line of Email.” Received by Name of Person Who Received Email, Day Month Year of Email. Email Interview.
Anaya, Rudolfo. “Re: Banning of Bless Me Ultima.” Received by Jessica Carranza, 4 June 2019. Email Interview.
Example – In-Person Interview Citation
Last Name of Person Interviewed, First Name. Interview. By Interviewer First Name Last Name. Day Month Year of Interview.
Anaya, Rudolfo. Interview. By Jessica Carranza. 4 June 2019.
Example – Telephone Interview Citation
Last Name of Person Interviewed, First Name. Interview. Day Month Year of Interview. By Interviewer First Name Last Name. Telephone Interview.
Anaya, Rudolfo. Interview. 4 June 2019. By Jessica Carranza. Telephone interview.
How to Cite a Print Interview in MLA
Did you find an amazing interview in Time magazine? If you need to know how to quote an interview in MLA in print, then remember that it is all about the publication format. For example, format an interview published in a magazine the same way as any other magazine article. But, instead of the author, you’ll place the interviewee’s name at the beginning. This will look like:
Example – Print MLA Interview
Last Name of Person Interviewed, First Name. “Title of the Interview.” Interview conducted by Interviewer First Last Name. Publication Title. Year of interview, page numbers.
Middleton, Kate. “Princess Kate Gets Candid!” Interview conducted by Simon Perry. People. 2020, pp. 43-47.
How to Quote an Online Interview in MLA
When it comes to quoting and citing an online interview, you’re still going to follow the publication source. So, you will cite it like any other online source. For example, consider this interview of Rudolfo Anaya discussing the reasons why his book Bless Me Ultima is often banned. Follow this example for how to cite an online interview in MLA style format.
Example – Online Printed Interview
Anaya, Rudolfo. “Bless Me Ultima.” C-Span 2013 LCV Cities Tour. 6 Feb. 2013. https://www.c-span.org/video/?311198-1/bless-me-ultima. Accessed 4 June 2019.
Primary Source Interview Criteria
As you know, a primary source is one that contains original material, not an evaluation of a source. In the case of interviews, if you find a published interview in a magazine, check these criteria to determine if it’s a primary or secondary source.
- Was the interview conducted by the author themselves?
- Is the interview about the subject?
- Is the published version the original one?
Accurate MLA 8 Interview Citation Style
Knowing how to quote an interview in MLA can come in handy. Using personal or published interviews is a good way to give your readers a direct link to the mind of your subject. You can direct your questions to help guide your project and develop your thesis. Cite your sources in MLA format accurately so researchers can readily access your reference material.